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May 23, 2017

SVSU honors outstanding patient care by 7 nurses across the region

Saginaw Valley State University celebrated the dedicated care and leadership delivered by seven registered nurses in the Great Lakes Bay Region during the seventh annual Carleen K. Moore R.N. Nursing Excellence awards ceremony Monday, May 22.

Established by SVSU’s Department of Nursing through generous support provided by Terry Moore and his wife Carleen K. Moore, the awards recognize outstanding nurses in multiple career paths, including clinical bedside nurses, nurse educators, nurses in the community, and nurses in long-term care and rehabilitation facilities.

The 2017 recipients include: • Cathy Campbell, who works for Covenant HealthCare in physical medicine and rehabilitation; she received the Long Term Care/Rehabilitation award. Her nominators wrote, “Cathy is the clinical nurse specialist for (the transitional care and rehabilitation) departments and coordinates and supports the care for the most complex of those patients. She challenges, mentors, and coaches the team. She collaborates and coordinates with the medical staff. She is the ‘go to’ person on both units. Cathy will do the necessary research to guarantee that the best evidence-based practice is implemented. Her focus is on providing the best patient care possible to provide quality outcomes.”

• Jackie Dost, who works in the emergency department of Saint Mary’s of Michigan; she is one of four recipients of the Acute Care Nursing award. Her director wrote, “She has enjoyed a long career in the Saint Mary’s emergency department. Jackie impacts the lives of all she encounters, both patients and peers with her wit, laughs and never-ending attempts to make situations fun.” Her nominator added: “Jackie is a member of the Saint Mary’s human trafficking task force. The goal of the task force is to raise awareness of the signs of human trafficking and to provide victims access to necessary community resources.”

• Rebecca Morgan, who works in McLaren Bay Region’s OB/Family Birthplace; she is one of four recipients of the Acute Care Nursing award. Her manager wrote, “Becky does all of the childbirth education and breastfeeding classes, as well as coordinating the Daddy Boot Camp classes that are completely conducted by fathers for new fathers. She frequently adjusts her schedule to meet the needs of new parents. Recently she supported an expectant teenage mother, 14. This young lady and her mother were too uncomfortable to attend the regular childbirth classes due to her age. Becky arranged a separate one-on-one session that would fit with the young patient’s school schedule.”

• Gordon Siu, who works in the neuro-trauma ICU at MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland; he is one of four recipients of the Acute Care Nursing award. His supervisor wrote, “Gordon cares for many different types of patients. He is well known for his trauma expertise. He will be the first to jump in and help when and where it is needed.” His nominator added: “He is a patient advocate and continuously strives to exceed patient expectations. He has been a clinician to sit with patients and families to educate and support their need to understand.”

• Trisha Slough, who works in the surgical services department at Saint Mary’s of Michigan Towne Centre; she is one of four recipients of the Acute Care Nursing award. Her director wrote, “Trisha is always very eager to learn. She runs the day-to-day patient scheduling. She works with physicians and facilitates the daily assignments for a staff of more than 20. She is an RN that is able to provide patient care in pre-op, recovery and in the operating room as a circulator. Recently, we needed someone to temporarily take on the role of Material’s Surgical Supervisor. She took on the role, quickly learning the requisition process, computer system, and how to interface with our vendors.”

• Jennifer Swartz, who works as a workforce development specialist at MidMichigan Health; she received the Nurse Educator award. Her manager wrote, “Jen was instrumental for single-handedly securing availability of computer access for students during the transition from Cerner to EPIC. Jen has made it a priority to secure access for all of the students that come to MidMichigan Health for a clinical experience. She has effectively communicated the need for over 300 students coming to MidMichigan each year to practice accessing the medical record and documenting in the medical record.” Swartz also teaches for multiple nursing programs in the region. Swartz completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees at SVSU, and is currently enrolled in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program.

• Julie Wright, who works as a community nurse educator for MidMichigan Health in Clare and Gladwin counties; she received the Nursing in the Community award. Her nominator wrote, “Julie has been a key driver in reaching our at-risk populations by providing various educational opportunities in both Clare and Gladwin counties. She specifically has been an integral piece of our implementation and expansion of childbirth prep classes in order to improve infant and maternal health. Julie will leave a legacy for ‘good’ for many years by creating vision, inspiring others, and using her power and influence to effectively guide ordinary people to produce extraordinary results.”

The awards were presented during a ceremony at SVSU Monday, May 22.

Carleen K. Moore worked as a licensed practical nurse for almost 15 years before returning to nursing school to become an registered nurse. She then worked in the critical care units at MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland for the next eleven years before retiring from full time nursing in 2001. Carleen and her husband, Terry, believe in the importance of recognizing and encouraging nurses who demonstrate excellence in their field.